Meditation and Mindfulness can be practiced anytime, anywhere and by anyone.

By dedicating only a few minutes each day to your new meditation habit, you will experience increased energy, reduced stress, increased blood flow, reduced pain, a sense of calm, reduced risk of heart disease and stroke, improved relationships and many more benefits in your body and your life.

Meditation is the practice of awareness and consciousness. Mindfulness is the state of being present and aware of what you’re doing as you do it. Meditation & Mindfulness are increasingly powerful practices to incorporate into our fast-paced technology age, to offset our brain’s habits of distraction.

By creating a new habit of daily meditation, you will start reaping the many benefits that meditation has to offer.

Week of Zen will provide a structure for you to begin your meditation practice through daily guided meditations to be completed over the course of one week.

You will be eased into your practice each day with a guided meditation ranging from 12-25 minutes. Each day you will receive an email inviting you to start your practice. Each meditation will guide you in exactly what to do, so no prior knowledge of meditation is necessary for you to begin.

Who’s Behind Week of Zen?

Marla suffers from anxiety, panic attacks and depression. After Marla introduced a regular meditation practice into her life, she reaped the benefits. She contributes meditation as one of the primary reasons for her healing. Marla immediately realized that so many more people could benefit from introducing a meditation practice into their lives. She wanted to share the same guided meditations that helped her, with people regardless of where they live in the world. A frequent traveler, Marla wanted access to meditations when she couldn’t physically attend classes and panic attacks would hit.

Week of Zen began as an idea to share the healing practice of meditation with those who are unsure of how and where to begin.

Who is Marla Sarris?

Marla Sarris is Founder, Cooking Coach & Chef of the popular paleo blog Paleo Porn. She is author of the Paleo cookbook, Pigskin Paleo, and the upcoming Paleo MX: Authentic Mexican Recipes. She is Executive Producer of the #1 Indie Film of 2016, Minimalism: A Documentary About The Important Things and Director of Finance for the brand development agency at SPYR.

For many years Marla has suffered from episodes of anxiety and depression. Although she has been living the paleo lifestyle since 2009 and had already reaped the many benefits that paleo has to offer, she still found herself suffering for 2 years straight with extremely low energy, inexplicit weight gain, bouts of insomnia, low sex drive, episodes of random panic attacks, irritability & fatigue to the point where cleaning the dishes was the extent to the activity she could take for one day. When she was diagnosed with adrenal exhaustion, brought on by stress, she found that meditation was a saving grace.

The thing is, Marla is not alone. Many people suffer from anxiety and depression but even more are overstressed. Everyone can benefit from spending a few minutes of each day in silence and stillness. Prioritizing this practice doesn’t come easy, especially to those who are taxed with their time. And those are the people who need it the most.

While Marla was healing her adrenal fatigue she started taking classes at The Dailey Method and that’s where she met Lorna. Lorna has a sense of peacefulness that surrounds her. After regularly practicing with Lorna, Marla felt the most calm she had ever experienced in her entire life. She knew Lorna had a gift and she wanted to bring that gift to more people. That is the spark that brought Week of Zen to life.

Marla started working with Lorna to record short, introductory guided meditations, similar to the ones Marla experienced at The Dailey Method. These guided meditations turned into Week of Zen, meant to help others start or continue a regular meditation practice. Lorna’s approach to meditation consists of creating a calming, direct and relatable experience that helps you clear your mind and also feel connected with the world at the same time.

Who is Lorna Bennett?

Lorna is a teacher, speaker, consultant, and life coach passionate about personal growth and transformation. She celebrates people turning themselves on – mentally, physically, and spiritually – to live their passion and purpose.

With more than 20 years experience in consulting, teaching, business leadership and organizational development, Lorna has served as a change catalyst under many umbrellas.

Lorna is an experienced yoga teacher, Reiki Master, motivational speaker, published writer, personal life coach, organizational change facilitator, and mother of three children (five if you include her fur-babies!) Her teaching style offers inspiring, theme-focused classes with a precise focus on Mindfulness, Meditation, and optimal alignment from the inside-out.

From 2012 to 2016 Lorna worked with The Dailey Method international franchise as a studio owner and Chief Spiritual Officer (CSO). She worked closely with founder Jill Dailey to introduce mindfulness training, alignment principles and enhancements to training resources available to studio owners and teachers across the franchise.

Lorna has consulted in Health Care Public Relations, Patient and Family Education, Cultural Competency, and Organizational Development. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education, and undergraduate degrees in Journalism and English.

As a transformational coach and teacher, Lorna empowers individuals to feel passionate, purposeful, free, and inspired to engage deeply in their lives, and to serve their highest calling.

FAQAbout Meditation

Q: What is Meditation?

A: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s definition of meditation is to engage in contemplation or reflection OR to engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one’s breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness.

More simply, meditation is a process that involves relaxing the body and quieting the mind.

Q: How did meditation start? Where did it originate?

A: The earliest recorded evidence of meditation dates from approximately 5,000 years ago in Hindu scripture. Around the 6th to 5th centuries BCE, other forms of meditation developed in Taoist China and Buddhist India.

Q: Why should I meditate? What are the benefits?

A: There are many benefits to meditation as listed above; however, the most important reason that we believe has people returning over and over again is because it makes them feel good.

As Dan Harris says, meditation makes him “10% Happier”, which is also the title of his book about his experiences with meditation.

Q: How is meditation different from relaxation or other ways of unwinding?

A: Watching TV, listening to music or reading a book are forms of relaxation and ways that people choose to unwind. When you relax, the goal is to not do much. We try not to think about anything that can stress us out but the mind is still very active and a stream of thoughts continue to flow. Relaxation continues to engage the thought process while meditation attempts to transcend the thought process.

In meditation, we attempt to make the mind quiet through focus and concentration. When we can observe our thoughts, we enter into a more profound state of awareness and inner peace. The practice of observing (thoughts, sensations & emotions) brings an inner calm that relaxation and unwinding do not produce. Meditation is a practice where we learn to achieve a state of nothingness or conscious awareness. We practice by focusing on breath, visualization or the words of guided meditation.

Q: What is the best time of day to meditate?

A: The best time of day to meditate is when it best works for you. You may find that practicing first thing in the morning, before you are distracted by other activities, fits with your schedule. Or you may need to get creative. Meditation can happen anytime, anywhere, only you can decide where it fits best for you.

Q: Should I meditate with my eyes open or my eyes closed?

A: You can choose whichever feels most relaxing. Try one time with your eyes open and the next time try with your eyes closed and see which way feels best for you.

Q: Do I need to be able to sit with my legs crossed to meditate?

A: Absolutely not. You can choose to meditate while standing, walking, sitting or laying down. For your first time, start seated in a comfortable position, either on the floor or in a chair. Feel free to use props to elevate your hips or support your back. Experiment to feel what helps you relax.

Q: How long should I meditate?

A: The guided meditations provided in Week of Zen range from 12-25 minutes. However, you can receive benefits from a meditation practice of just 5 minutes a day. If you feel comfortable meditating longer, don’t limit yourself. Continue to experiment and see what works for you.

Q: Can you meditate too much?

A: No. The more you meditate, the better you will get at quieting the mind and making space. Meditation and mindfulness become life practices.

Q: Where should I meditate?

A: Anywhere! You don’t need to own a meditation pillow or go some place specific in order to start a meditation practice. As a beginner it is a good idea to designate a relatively distraction-free space for meditation. Before you know it you’ll be able to meditate on a bus, in a car, in your bedroom, on the toilet, maybe in the middle of a hurricane. Choose a location, don’t strive for perfection and drop in.

Q: Do I need a group or a teacher to meditate?

A: Week of Zen is here to help you get started. We hope, very soon, you’ll feel empowered to own your practice.

Q: Can I listen to music while meditating?

A: If you are starting your practice with Week of Zen we will provide everything you need in order to begin. Simply listen to the provided recordings each day and you will be good to go. Once you start meditating on your own, experiment with and without music (instrumental) to see which you prefer.

Q: Do you have to practice yoga in order to meditate?

A: The practices of yoga and meditation are complimentary but you do not need to practice yoga in order to start, have or continue a meditation practice.

Q: Do I have to stop my thoughts? Do I need to make my mind blank?

A: Not at all. It is nearly impossible to stop the brain from generating thoughts. In meditation we learn to access a space behind thoughts, where we can observe them. This empowers us to separate our thoughts from ourselves.

“The practice of meditation may seem like just that, practice. It may feel as though you’re practicing for a performance that never comes. But that performance that you’re practicing for is ever present. It’s your daily life.”

Q: Why do I lose my concentration when I meditate?

A: Life is full of distractions. When you meditate it is normal to experience distraction. Allow for imperfection. Just keep practicing, returning to the seat of meditation. The more you practice, the less you will be affected by distractions – in meditation and in life.

Q: What if I get distracted by my body being uncomfortable?

A: Life is full of uncomfortable moments. Practice allowing discomfort. Simply be with it. The same way we can practice observing thoughts, we can practice observing physical sensations in our body. This empowers us to separate our physical experiences from ourselves.

Q: What if I get distracted by my feelings or emotions?

A: Emotions may come up during meditation. Allow this to happen. Practice simply being aware of emotional energy in or around your experience. This makes us able to distinguish our emotional experiences from ourselves.

“People want to understand their anger, to understand their fear. But they think that observing the breath, oh, this is not important at all. But if you can’t observe something as obvious and as simple as the breath coming in and out, you have absolutely no chance of really observing your anger, which is far more stormy and far more difficult.”

Q: Can children meditate?

A: Absolutely! Meditation is for everyone.

“Meditative practices have the potential to actually change the structure and function of the brain in ways that foster academic success. Fundamental principles of neuroscience suggest that meditation can have its greatest impact on cognition when the brain is in its earliest stages of development. Meditation can help instill self-control and an ability to focus.”The New York Times

Q: What are signs of progress with meditation?

A: You know you’re succeeding when you start to experience benefits. Are you able to observe your own thoughts and not identify with them? Can you notice physical sensations without reacting? Have you had the experience of being amidst intense emotional energy without being consumed by it? Are you able to access a space within where you are ok no matter what the external circumstances of life? – If you can answer yes to these questions, you are progressing in your meditation practice.

Q: Can I meditate lying down? Can I meditate while standing up or walking?

A: Yes. You can meditate in any of these positions, though when you are first starting your practice it is good to create the same situation each time so you get used to the environment you designate for meditation. For that reason we would recommend to choose one position and stick with it for your first Week of Zen meditations. Once you have a routine that you’re familiar with you can start to change up the positions and see if alternatives work better for you.

Q: What if my nose starts running while I'm meditating?

A: Wipe it (seriously) if you need to. But also practice, as much as possible, being in stillness and allowing for all sorts of distractions and minor discomforts (i.e. maybe you do practice letting your nose run). When we practice being present and not reacting to discomfort, we learn to recognize an inner part of us that is always ok. What could be possible in life if you could embrace, rather than resist, discomfort?

Q: Is there a best form of meditation?

A: The best form of meditation is the one you find most comfortable. That which allows you to drop in with ease and continue your practice when you need it.

Q: Why do some people use essential oil and candles while meditating?

A: Just as some people use props in yoga or others own a pressure cooker while cooking, essential oil and candles are just props that can be used to help set the mood and help you get comfortable.

Q: What is the best breathing method for meditation?

A: Your body will breathe you. Trust that. When you are new to a meditation practice, the best breathing method is the one that allows you to relax. Your breath should feel deep, easy and natural. Once you feel yourself able to access & relax into the seat of meditation, you can start to practice breathing deeply in and out through the nose, and from there you can experiment with more specific breathing practices including some of the options offered in these guided meditations. Most importantly: Enjoy your breath.

Q: Is meditation a religious practice?

A: No.

Q: Does meditation have to be spiritual?

A: The benefits of meditation may be mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological, energetic and inter/intra personal. Meditation does not have to be anything. And it could be everything.

Q: I've tried meditation before and it didn't work for me.

A: Sometimes the right style, the right teacher, the right environment and the right time in your life need to all align in order for meditation to take. Don’t get discouraged. Continue to be open and receptive to starting a meditation practice. Remember, it is a practice. The more you practice, the deeper the feeling of being in it and the more profound the benefits.

Q: I've resolved to meditate a few different times and failed each time. Why can't I make it stick?

A: You have to remember you are forming a habit and habits take time to create. Give yourself some grace and don’t be so hard on yourself. Continue to try again and again making small changes to your practice.

FAQAbout Week of Zen

Q: What is Week of Zen?

A: Week of Zen is a 7 day guided meditation course which draws from a diversity of traditions. These meditations are designed for Real Life in order to empower you with simple, everyday practices to transform and improve your life.

Q: How much does it cost?

A: Week of Zen is a one time payment of $59 and you can keep the guided meditations (audio recordings) forever.

Q: What is the time commitment?

A: Allow 30 minutes each day for 7 days straight to begin your practice.

Q: Can I listen on my phone? Can I listen in my car?

A: Yes! You will have access to download the audio files and listen on your own device, wherever and whenever you would like.

Q: Do I need to download any special software to access the recordings?

A: No. Upon purchase you will be provided a login and access to the Week of Zen dashboard where you will be provided access to each day’s meditation sequentially.

Q: Can I jump in on any day or do the days need to be practiced consecutively?

A: For the first time through the course, you should complete each day consecutively to begin your new meditation habit. Once you’ve completed the entire Week of Zen the first time through completely and in order, you can go back and repeat from the beginning, you can listen to your favorite meditations out of order or repeat the same days meditation over and over again.

Q: Will I get emails telling me what to do?

A: Yes. You will get a daily email each of the 7 days which will provide an introduction to that days meditation and a link to access the recording in the Week of Zen Dashboard. From there you will also be able to download the recordings for each day.

Q: Do I have to start my Week of Zen on a particular day?

A: Start when you have a week available to you to begin.

Q: Do I have to start my Week of Zen right after purchasing?

A: No, however the Day One lesson will be unlocked in your Dashboard on the day you purchase and each day following that day the consecutive lessons will be unlocked.

Q: What if I have questions during the week?

A: If you have questions at any time, you can contact us and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Q: How do I know if I'm succeeding with Week of Zen?

A: You know you are being successful in your practice when you start to experience the benefits of meditation. Refer back to the question What are signs of progress with meditation? in the Q&A above for a more in depth response of what to look for.

Q: What can I do to continue my practice after my Week of Zen is complete?

A: You can continue to repeat your Week of Zen recordings from the start or choose any meditation you specifically connected with to replay over and over. You will have lifetime access to the meditations and will be the first to know when additional weeks (courses) are made available.

Sample Week of Zen Now

Put your headphones on, plug in, close your eyes and listen to each of the following one minute meditations. These are snippets of the guided meditations you will have access to in Week of Zen.